Adaptability – Sim Khanuja

If someone told me 14 months ago that we would attend school through a computer screen, I never would’ve believed them. Heck, last year the word “Zoom” wasn’t even a part of my vocabulary, but now it arises in most of my conversations. What we now perceive as “normal”— masks, standing six feet apart, quarantining— would seem bizarre to our past selves.

This made me think about how humanity has conquered and overcome challenges time and time again. I admire our flexibility and the fact that we have altered our way of life to survive a global pandemic. 

To be blunt, life has sucked these past 14 months. None of us wanted to change all of our plans, but we had to. And through it all, the world continued to persist despite such loss. Whether it be isolation from friends and family, dealing with deaths of loved ones or struggling with school and work, humanity has withstood. 

In another light, I found adaptability as a trait in individual people. Not only has COVID-19 shown me how plans can change, but it’s taught me to be OK with it. I used to be the type of person that organized my entire week by religiously marking a calendar pinned to my bedroom wall. I would still say I’m organized, but I take pride in the fact that I can step away from rigid routine. My life’s structure was partially torn down by quarantine, a time where “normalcy” was defined by having nothing to do. 

Since the pandemic was a shock to us all, I learned to deal with surprises and be spontaneous myself. Not “steal-a-car” level spontaneous, but I recently dabbled in things I never would have tried before. A couple months ago, I picked up a cookbook for the first time and attempted to prepare a meal. Now, I cook dinner for my family several nights a week, and they actually eat it. I’m no Gordon Ramsay, but knowing how to cook oatmeal properly was way beyond my skill level 14 months ago. 

Over this period of boredom, I was also drawn to a major guilty pleasure of mine — I started watching shows like “Criminal Minds,” binging serial killer documentaries and listening to true crime podcasts. I even bought multiple “Unsolved Case Files,” where I spent hours trying to catch a criminal who never even existed. I found joy using my brain to piece together these puzzles, a comfort I never would’ve found if not for trying new things. 

Who knows what lies ahead another 14 months from now? I pray there won’t be another global pandemic or anything so extreme, but I do know how constantly the world shifts and turns. Above all,

. If this pandemic has taught me anything, it’s how the world has the impressive ability to adjust. And personally speaking, it’s how I adjusted to become comfortable with trying new things. I have hope that whatever this world faces in the future, we can all move forward while continuing to adapt.